Police: Former Columbus psychologist raped girl about 50 times

A former psychologist from Columbus is accused of raping a woman about 50 times when she was between the ages of 9 and 12, according to testimony Thursday morning in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

John Clarence Evans Jr., 65, of Auburn pleaded not guilty on numerous charges related to the incidents reported in 2006. He was ordered held in the Muscogee County Jail after being denied bond on multiple charges.

The victim of that incident did not report the assault until Aug. 1, 2004, and Evans was arrested the following Sept. 22, according to court documents.

The defendant was convicted on March 10, 2005. He was serving time in a Georgia prison in 2006 when a 12-year-old girl reported that Evans sexually assaulted her when she was between the age of 9 and 12.

She said he raped her 50 times and forced her to pose in lingerie, according to police.

“She said she was forced to wear lingerie that came from Victoria’s Secret,” testified Fitzpatrick, who said her statement corroborated with the one the first victim gave. “She said she had multiple encounters with John C. Evans.”

The detective said Evans would often go into the restroom while the victim was bathing, and the first victim witnessed that at least once.

The second victim told police she was initially too afraid of Evans to report it, but she built up the courage after he started serving time in prison on the 2005 conviction.

“He was intimidating and manipulating these girls,” Fitzpatrick said.

In 2006, police obtained warrants for Evans for rape, child molestation, aggravated child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and one other sexual assault charge. They then went to the Georgia prison where he was serving time to arrest him on the new charges, but they were told it would have to wait.

“They told us that because it was a different victim, they would have to put a hold on those warrants,” the testifying detective told the court. “Once he served the time for the initial investigation that we had, they would serve the warrants that we had from 2006.”

Evans was released Saturday from the Central State Prison in Macon before Bibb County authorities arrested him on those outstanding warrants.